poker face
by the red feather
Summary: Two people are playing poker at the table in the corner. They're different as can be - but they're together, and that is what matters. seto/shizuka.


A oneshot written on a whim, first semi-romantic thing I've every done. It seems more friendshippy than romancey, but oh well. I might go back and flesh it out a little more later. Pardon my use of "pokerspeak", i.e. snowmen, beer hand, flop, river, things like that. I'll explain down at the bottom of the page. And yes, the two people are Seto and Serenity, (you should be able to figure that out) and yes, they are playing poker. I imagine that Kaiba would make a very good poker player. If you don't understand, I'll explain down below. Please review!

* * *

---

"_Three aces." he said smugly._

"_Fooey. Snowmen."_

"_Another hand?"_

"_Sure."_

_---_

Their friendship was unexpected and unlikely. She was a waitress at the coffee shop on Main Street, while he was the CEO of one of the most successful companies in the world. She lived in an old apartment, while he lived in a mansion. Their meeting was, by all accounts, a complete accident. A collision was involved, and insults were exchanged. Things didn't go well-yet months later, here they were, sitting at the table in the corner, drinking coffee and chatting like old friends, playing cards.

---

"_I've got two kings." She laid her cards on the table._

_He smirked. "Full house. I win again."_

"_You suck."_

"_Thank you."_

"_It wasn't meant as a compliment."_

"_So? What is?_

"_You have a point."_

_---_

He hadn't known who he was when she first met him. She hadn't either. Perhaps that was why they had turned out friends…or something of the sort. They had a relationship, albeit a secret and somewhat strangled one, but it was _there_-and that was what mattered.

---

""_I fold." She muttered._

"_Why?"_

"_Because I'm going to lose anyway."_

"_But why?" _

"_I just told you. I was going to lose anyway."_

"_How do you know that?"_

_---_

There was a lot that the two of them had in common, but there were more things that they _didn't_ have in common. He liked everything to be ordered and organized, while chaos was part of her day-to-day life. He wouldn't open up to anybody in a million years, while she made a habit of wearing her heart on her sleeve.

---

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You shouldn't throw out your hand before the flop. What did you have?"_

"_A friggin' beer hand, that's what."_

_A derisive snort. "Well, then you might want to fold."_

"_I told you." She rolled her eyes. _

_---_

The whole thing started by accident. Well, it seemed like an accident. He was at the dark little coffee shop she worked at, getting a drink. She had just gotten off her shift. He had a deck of cards. She was bored. So they played.

---

"_So, how's your brother?" he asked, shuffling the deck of cards methodically. _

"_Since when did you start caring about my brother, hmm?"_

"_Since you started asking me to." He countered._

"_Ah, so I do have some power over you, Oh Almighty One." She snickered._

"_Watch the sarcasm. That's my forte, remember, Wheeler?"_

"_Yes, I know. I find your sarcasm endearing."_

"_Isn't that a contradiction?"_

"_Maybe. Sarcasm is just witty cynicism. I happen to find this an endearing quality." _

"_Whatever." He dealt them each a hand._

_---_

He had a poker face. A cold, emotionless mask that kept itself up through every situation, every challenge. Nothing made it past that insurmountable fortress of a façade…nobody except her. Around her, he was a different person-a person that never left that corner table.

---

"_Okay. Flop." _

_A six. A Queen. A nine._

_She blew a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. "'Kay."_

_He flipped over another Queen. _

_Her eyes gleamed with new hope. "Let's see the river, then."_

_He flipped over another six._

"_So what do you have?" he asked casually._

_A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "You go first."_

"_Fine. I have three nines, king high."_

"_Well, it seems I've broken your winning streak, then."_

"_Oh really?" he raised an eyebrow._

"_Yep. Read 'em and weep, my good man." She fanned out her cards on the table. "Three queens, ace high." A self-assured smirk._

"_Beginner's luck."_

"_I resent that."_

"_Six fifty-five."_

"_Oh. Okay."_

_---_

Six fifty-five. He arrived every Friday at five twenty-five, five minutes before the end of her shift. They would have coffee-black for him, decaf for her, and then they'd play. At six fifty-five, they would leave, with the same goodbye each and every time.

---

"_Again next Friday?" she asked._

"_Again next Friday." He said, as always. Then the mask went back up, the friendlier persona dropped. They both left as if they'd never seen each other before, only simple acquaintances._

_---_

But something had changed. She wasn't the only one to notice that he smiled more often. The walls of the fortress were crumbling, slowly but surely. They were _both_ changing, whether they liked it or not. But you know what?

No matter what, she always came back.

So did he.

* * *

YAY! I liked writing that. It's not very good, but I hope you enjoy it. It only took me 30 min to write, so…yeah. Oh! Explanations, right.

Seto and Serenity are playing a type of poker called Texas Hold 'Em, or tournament poker. It differs from the typical five-card draw poker in that the players are dealt only two cards. Then the dealer flips over three cards in the middle of the table. These cards are called the "flop", and are a sort of community hand. Then two more cards are flipped over, one at a time-the "river." The players use their two cards and the five community cards to form the best hand possible. This type of poker is more strategical than the ordinary five-card draw. Oh, and "snowmen" means a pair of eights. A "beer hand" is a two and a three, offsuited. It's called that because when you get dealt _that_ kind of hand…well that means it's time to fold and go get a beer. --;

Please R&R, thank you all so much!


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